It is well-known that topical treatment with corticosteroids causes skin atrophy as a side effect. However, effective treatment of skin atrophy caused by potent corticosteroids is currently not available.
Skin atrophy involves a reduction in epidermal and dermal thickness, regression of sebaceous glands, loss of subcutaneous fat and muscle-layer atrophy. Typically, such changes can be seen 2 to 3 weeks after initiating treatment with moderate- to highpotency topical corticosteroid use. The affected areas are normally skin with high permeability such as face, but may occur anywhere the application of the corticosteroid takes place. Atrophy may also be seen after application of low-potency corticosteroids and is often reversed upon termination of the treatment. However, in many cases the atrophy is a permanent manifestation that is not reversed
Attempts to develop alternative treatments to corticosteroids with another pharmacological approach have been done, but as of today only a few alternative with lower antiinflammatory activity than corticosteroids are available. These treatment modalities consist of vitamin A and D derivatives and calcineurin inhibitors e. g. tacrolimus.
The present invention provides a combination of TRIAC and DHEA, which can be used to effectively treat skin atrophy, for example skin atrophy induced by the use of corticosteroids or prolonged exposure to sunlight.